Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog, authors of the book: "Engineers of Jihad" present a psychological study, which highlights their scientific findings that a "disproportionate share of engineers" are found among Islamist extremists and "radical right-wingers." On the other hand "there are almost no engineers among radical left-wing groups, which are more likely to attract graduates in humanities and social sciences."
Yet ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph, is not a technocrat. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Islamic studies from the University of Baghdad, and a Master's and PhD in Koranic studies from Saddam University for Islamic Studies in Iraq. But he has a reputation as a highly organised and ruthless battlefield tactician, which analysts say makes ISIS attractive to young jihadists.
His rival, al-Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri was an eye surgeon, and led Islamist groups before he became Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man and the chief ideologue of al-Qaeda. His grandfather was the grand imam of al-Azhar in Cairo, the centre of Islamic learning in the Middle East. As a teenager Zawahiri was involved in political Islam, embraced by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, allowing him to adopt an ideology at an early age.
The authors contradict the assumption that far-right activists are Islamophobes, and point out the deep relationship between the "extreme right, particularly in Europe, and Islamist radicalism." Both camps share "common enemies" - Jews, the US, the “New World Order.” In both Europe and America, neo-Nazi groups et al, like France's Front National celebrated the 9/11 attacks. Another example of an "unholy alliance" in history was the meeting between Adolf Hitler and Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem in 1941. The latter "maintained close ties with the fascist regimes in Italy and Germany," in order to declare the illegality of the Jewish home in Palestine. After the war many Nazis "found refuge in the Middle East," and some "even converted to Islam." Moreover, "Julius Evola, the reactionary Italian thinker whose work has inspired Europe’s post-war far right, expressly admired the concept of jihad and the self-sacrifice it demands."
The "important traits" the two camps above share, shed a light on the "ideological and psychological components" of their structure. They all - unlike liberals and those on the left - embrace an "authoritarian, hierarchical" social order, and promote "racial or religious “supremacy” that "justifies the subjugation, and even enslavement, of others." They love to promise a just society, free of corruption. "The "tendency to be easily disgusted," reveals their idea of purity. A “need for closure” shows "a preference for order, structure, and certainty," and a "sharp delineation" of one’s “in-group” and “out-groups” means in their view, there is only either us or them. These traits are remarkably absent among liberals and the left.
The authors also elaborate the Islamists' "obsession with cleanliness" and their strict observance of rituals. Their "need for certainty" explains why "Islamist radicals have pursued hard technical fields rather than softer subjects that offer fewer clear answers." But the number of engineers, and their chance of becoming radicalised are higher in Muslim countries, because they are "frustrated" by social and political malaise, and "the lack of opportunities" due to inequalities. What is astonishing is that in the West, "among radical right-wingers with a university education, engineers are similarly overrepresented." Interestingly women have no appetite for Islamist and right-wing extremism, but they have "a strong presence on the radical left." The author believes the "correlation among psychological traits, academic disciplines, and presence in different radical groups is nearly perfect."
Although "most people who study engineering or have a strong preference for order will not become radicalized," and that "these factors cannot be used effectively in profiling," this "insight into the psychology of radicalization" is useful. The authors say Western and many Arab governments "employ hundreds of people to dissuade would-be radicals, without a clear understanding of the psychological needs these ideologies serve." They think it is important to find "better ways to meet those needs," before any terrorist attack takes place.

For a scientific study to end up with valid results, it has to be built on reliable data, not on news from media controlled by the "extreme right", the new con. behind the "New World Order".
It is a shame to equate an associate between fascism and a hero "Amin al-Hussaini, the grand mufti of al-Quds in Palastine, who sacrificed his life defending his people's land against savage lmperialism and Zionism, who boldly extorted Palastine and gave to criminals collected from different parts of the world.

The history here is interesting but irrelevant. In every European country these days, the radical left and Islamists are linked at the hip. The left invariably supports Open Borders, mass immigration, "refugees", coverups of immigrant crimes, welfare dependency, etc. Here is an easy way to understand this. Is Geert Wilders a figure of the left or right? What about Marine Le Pen? Nigel Farage?

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